Bookish, Geekish & Writerly Things

SPOILER Alert! If you have not read these books, then I suggest you turn back now.

I mean it, I’m pretty much going to RUIN the whole series if you don’t turn back now.

Annndddd, one last SPOILER announcement?

Ok then.

Well, so, during Part 1 of this rant, we left off with Jem and Tessa being engaged…

Which means everything is sunshine and roses now right? Jem and Tessa are planning their wedding, Will has moved on, Jem is looking healthier than he has in years. All is well in the world, right?

Don’t be an idiot! Of course nothing is right! How can it be when Tessa is in love with two amazing men!

Tessa is doing her very best to not think of how she still loves two guys. Jem is healthy, because he is taking more yin fen and NOT TELLING ANYONE! And Will? Over Tessa? Ha!

“I thought perhaps that when you told me you did not love me that my own feelings would fall away and atrophy, but they have not. They have grown every day. I love you now more desperately, this moment, than I have ever loved you before, and in an hour I will love you more than that” ― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess

Dammit Will! You can’t keep saying things like this to her! You are not helping the situation! (I love you, I’m sorry I yelled)

So yes, that is the state of things when we pick up in book three. A tangled, tangled mess. And it only gets worse when Mortmain buys up all the yin fen in the city to blackmail the London Shadowhunters to give up Tessa. Why is this a problem? Jem has enough yin fen to last about a year or so right? Right?

Wrong! Jem, love of my life, ah, Tessa’s life has been taking more than he should! He wanted to be healthy for her. JEM! HOW COULD YOU! *angry sob*

Seeing Tessa and Will band together to help Jem is painfully beautiful to watch.

Then! Tessa gets kidnapped! And Jem gets, really, really deathly ill. Unable to do so himself, Jem asks Will take care of Tessa should he die! How he still does not know Will is desperately in love with his fiancee still completely baffles me, ugh, men!

Naturally, Will agrees, and so on and so forth. This leads to a heartbreaking conversation with Magnus in which Will says he could never be with Tessa, even if Jem dies. OMG, the tears, the pain. This book just tears me to shreds utterly and completely!

But wait, it gets worse! Soooooo, much worse!

Will makes his promises to Jem and goes off to rescue Tessa. While he’s away, Jem takes a turn for the worse. While in the middle of nowhere Wales, Will feels the Parabatai bond break. Nooooooooooooo!!!!!! I cried so much. Jem. Jem was my favorite! How could you do this to me Cassandra? HOW! *so many tears*

So, filled with grief, Will continues his mission, and finds Tessa. And immediately they make love… WTF! I was so very not OK at this point! I mean, I had barely been a day since Jem died! My tears were still wet on my face! What. The. Hell!

Then I calmed down.

I was so very, very conflicted. They had been in love with each other since book one. But Jem had loved Tessa since book one.Tessa loved Jem. Jem and Tessa had been engaged. Will and Jem were closer than brothers. Jem told Will to look after Tessa.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL!

But wait, it gets worse still… Worse than Jem dying and Will and Tessa sleeping together straight after? Nah, I hear you say. Surely it can’t get worse than than. Right?

Seriously? Have you learned nothing by now? It can always get worse!

So after that awkward moment when Magnus walks in all disapproving. (You just know you’ve done wrong when Magnus disapproves)

Things don’t have time to be awkward, because it’s straight into battle. The Silent Brothers are helping. The hood of the one called Brother Zachariah falls back…

ITS JEM! JEM IS A FREAKING SILENT BROTHER! AND ALIVE!

(I told you it got worse)

*cue hideously ugly crying, and I do mean ugly, blubbering*

So, they battle, there are casualties and Tessa does her awesome epic thing. The next thing we know, Tessa is awake… And both Jem and Will are eager to see her. This part hurt soooooooooo much!!!!! These tears bordered on hysterical. I mean, this part, this entire series utterly RUINED me! Those last moments between Jem and Tessa… I’m almost crying thinking about it. Tessa wracked with guilt, Jem suspecting but not wanting his suspicions confirmed.

It hurt, so, so much. *uncontrollable crying*

“Some secrets, she thought, were better told; some were better left the burden of the carrier, that they might not cause pain to others.” ― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess

It broke me, it really did, in the most painfully beautiful way. Yes people, I enjoyed every angst riddled moment. It utterly destroyed my heart. Never ever have I read anything like this love triangle.

But if you thought it was over, you would be wrong… Again.

Time heals all wounds as they say. Time passes and eventually Will and Tessa allow themselves to be together. Jem, now Brother Zachariah, is still a big part of their lives, even after they marry.

Now, during the part when Tessa and Jem were talking after she woke up, they made a vow to each other. Once a year, every year, they would meet on Blackfriars Bridge. (Where Jem first realised he loved her) So, during the events of The City of Heavenly Fire, Brother Zachariah was touched by Jace Herondale who had the heavenly fire inside him (that situation is too complicated to explain right now) and burned away the Silent Brother runes, making Jem mortal again…

Sooooooooooooo, after a long and twisted path of pain and happiness, Tessa got to have her cake and eat it too! She ended up with both of them! Jem wasn’t randomly made a dying boy turned Silent Brother for no reason. Tessa was immortal (Warlock) and had her long and happy life with Will before he passed away, Jem still being a huge part of their lives. And during all his time as a Silent Brother so too Jem was immortal.

So, so, so when he showed up at their annual meeting…

He was mortal. And I cried again! I hadn’t attached myself to a sunken ship after all. Tessa was able to have the two great loves of her lives!

And that, my friends, is how you write a truly epic and unforgettable love triangle. It was everything I wanted. It was literally the most perfect thing ever!

Kudos to you Cassandra Clare, you wonderful, evil, amazing woman! The Tess/Jem/Will triangle has ruined me for any other love triangle

I want to be you when I grow up.

Psstt, if you want to know what happened after the end, check THIS out.